A PARISH priest has condemned no smoking signs he will be forced to display in his church from Sunday.

Father Christopher Lindlar from St Andrew's in Deal is furious he has to put up the notices at his West Street church as part of the new smoke-free laws.

He said: "This really has to be the barking mad nanny state. When did anyone last see someone smoking in church?

"Ignorance has never been an excuse for disobeying the law, but just in case anyone does not know the new law about no smoking in public places, we are now compelled to have no smoking notices.

"If we have no sign, we are criminalised with a big fat fine."

Anyone managing smoke-free premises will must ensure that no smoking signs are in place or face a £200 fixed penalty notice or a fine of up to £1,000 if convicted by a court.

Mr Lindar added: "To cap it all, our church notice board was recently knocked down by a motorist. We really do need to put up a replacement sign, which involves applying for planning permission, listed building consent and payment of whopping government fees."

To be sure the congregation gets the message about the ban on smoking in church, the parish priest created a super-size no smoking sign.